Mor'kar
He's your dad? The elf with ribs poking out of his skin and black sockets for eyes? Cor, your mum was kinky. - Krys, Paroled Reprobate One of the last shards to be created, the Mor'kar were actually self-made rather than through the Schism. Through some process as yet unknown, the Mor'kar have staved off death and become an everliving race. With time no longer a danger, the Mor'kar have devoted themselves to the study of magic and science. Their university, the Spire , has become the most prestigious and respected in the world, all manner of students gather under its tutelage to become archmages and ministers of state. History In the bright light of the Schism, with the very planet itself tearing apart at the core, a group of Aei'kar elders who had founded a secret cult called the Mo'hein. These elders enacted a rite they had discovered in the ancient texts of Rathilon. The Mo'hein attained near immortal status through this Rite, known as the Imbuing of Truth. The first record we have of the true Mor'kar is in 2E, 144 from fragments of the Imbuing Rite that are now kept and enshrined in the Spire. Unlike the Aei'kar who only recorded things they felt were noteworthy, the Mor'kar were fastidious historians and have kept meticulous records of any and all events that have transpired since the Schism. For the early parts of their history, the Mor'kar operated as individuals without a unifying central government. This makes sense as it took almost two hundred years for the true nature of their new abilities came to fruition. But in 287, the Mor'kar created a ruling council of the five original founders of the Mo'hein. This council was in its infancy when it sent a diplomatic group to mediate the disputes between their cousins, the Nua'dar and the Aei'kar. After bringing that war to a close in 307, the Mor'kar began earnest work on the Spire, a massive structure designed to house a myriad of instituitions designed to hone and monitor the magical prowess of the races. Many have suspected that the reason for this is that the Mo'hein Council wished to keep a tight hold on the use and availability of magic in order to ensure not only their control of it but also to safeguard the world from another Schism or similar event. Their establishment of the Academ Vindicarii a few years after the completion of the Spire in 419 has been one of the more broadly reaching events in Mor'kar history. With this organisation and its subsequent inclusion of the other races, magic became a heavily policed activity. Some have felt chaffed under such supervision but the Academ makes it clear that proper enforcement and restrictions on magic are essential to maintaing the proper balance of power in Canthia. Culture In addition to those Mor'kar who were members of the Mo'hein Cult, those who achieved immortal status right before the Schism are known as Aei'Mo ("First Suns"), while any later are called the Kha'Mo ("Second Suns"). As death is so rare among the Mor'kar, each one is cause for a nationwide event. Considered strange by nearly every other culture, this event is an half-grieving ceremony (for the loss of a friend, as nearly all Aei'Mo have known one another from centuries past) and half-raucous, alcoholic celebration of the deceased's passing on. After all, when you have met your gods, the afterlife is nearly a sure thing. The magnitude of this event rises with the age of the deceased. At the rare occasion of the loss of an Aei'Mo, the entire nation comes to a standstill. Category:Content Category:Lore Category:Races